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Slowly but surely, Montecito might be getting closer to a new Miramar.

At the urging of Miramar property owner Rick Caruso ​— ​and with his project specifically in mind ​— ​the county is moving forward with an ordinance that would provide an avenue of rebate for those developing luxury hotels in the unincorporated parts of Santa Barbara County.

Caruso has said such a move would help make his project ​— ​a 186-room beach club and spa with a $170-million price tag ​— ​more attractive to potential financiers. If finalized, the new hotel incentive program would give the developers 70 percent of the bed tax generated by the hotel for 15 years. The county would get 20 percent for general programs, and the last 10 would be used to promote tourism. Developers would have a four-year construction period, after which the rebate period would begin whether the hotel was open or not. In Caruso’s case, the deal would be worth at least $15 million throughout the life of the rebate.

Matt Middlebrook, executive vice president for Caruso Affiliated, said the resort would be a positive for all hospitality ventures. “We strongly believe the opening of the Miramar will bring more attention to Santa Barbara County,” Middlebrook said.

As Caruso and his people are quick to point out, the Miramar currently generates no sales or bed-tax revenue, and little property-tax revenue, which amounts to about $568,000 a year. Once the hotel is up and running, county officials estimate property tax will be bumped to $1.7 million, sales-tax revenue will increase to $1.5 million, and bed taxes will bring in $450,000.

Concerns were raised about a lack of ordinance language requiring prevailing wages or hiring area construction workers for projects ​— ​since the point is to spur on the local economy ​— ​but three of the supervisors were ready to move forward with the ordinance regardless. First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal said those issues could be ironed out when a developer comes to the board with an application.

But 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf and 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr were not comfortable with the language of the ordinance as it was written and said it needed tightening. “It’s not a good ordinance,” said Wolf, who compared the number of holes the ordinance had to her husband’s workout T-shirt. “That’s all there is to it.”

For Caruso ​— ​who again lauded the oceanfront spot as a “spectacular piece of property” that he remains committed to building ​— ​he must now apply to the program, once the ordinance becomes official. From there, the board will have the discretion to deny or allow the rebate specifically applied to the Miramar and then set out the terms.

Once adopted, Caruso has promised he will demolish the old, decrepit buildings that have sat on the property, vacant since it closed 12 years ago. The demolition benefits not only the community but also Caruso, whose permits would then not expire because substantial work was being done of the property.

Caruso ​— ​known for several commercial projects in Los Angeles but attempting his first go at building a hotel ​— ​is the third person to own the property since it was shuttered. Since 2007, when he bought the property, he has slowly made his way toward construction. He is quick to note the downturn in the economy, which happened around the same time he received the county’s approval of his project. On Tuesday, he said he was happy with the supervisors’ latest decision and was ready to move as quickly as the county could. “Every project has difficulties; this one has been difficult,” Caruso said, adding that he remains committed to the Miramar.

The supervisors, in a separate move Tuesday, directed county staff to come back with proposed language for a potential ballot measure ­— which would require a simple majority to pass — that would increase the bed tax from 10 percent to 12 percent. The funds would go to general programs. The supervisors will make a decision on whether to put the measure on the November ballot this Tuesday.

Comments

Well, sure, its been difficult for Mr. Caruso... the free market is a tough place. He's been successful elsewhere, but in this case he has not had the ability to rise to the challenge, and so he is pleading for a handout.

There are loads of ways for the County to eat its vegetables and get healthy for the long term, but handing pork to a guy who has failed is not one of them.

Giving the bed tax to help startups, for example, would grow companies like Digital Instruments (now Veeco), or Citrix, or a number of other small firms that come out of SBCC or UCSB would grow real jobs and not the low-wage ones in the resort industry.

Nice. County gets $450,000 annually for bed tax while Caruso get's about $1,000,000 break for 15 years. Salud, Dorreen Janet get how much to their campaigns annually from Caruso? Basic math.....County upside down $17-$20 million next year with no effort to fix that ongoing problem, the three saps.....sorry, sups, direct staff not to cut programs, but give away the farm. SB County, when will we learn......

That's nice BeachFan, but Supervisors Doreen and Janet voted against this giveaway.

But actions like this are how Caruso and their ilk in the ONE PERCENT stay in the One Percent, by government deliberately and methodically giving away the public treasury to benefit the rich to keep them rich.

Doreen Farr and Janet Wolf are to be commended for standing up for what is right; and the other three condemned for selling out our schools, libraries, emergency services for their own personal agendas. See the mass of support for this action? It's nowhere to be found.

Well, like that Bridge Development near Hendrys Beach, so too I say again, "Follow the Money". Who is getting an under the table payment to fund some wealthy developers Hotel promises? At the most, if the County gives him his rebate, Caruso, could cash in and split town, then again, this all sounds a lot like the Banking Bail-out fiasco but on a smaller level.If Caruso, is such a big-time, successful developer, why does he need a rebate? IRS for business allows a tax default for losses in development or renovations to a business, which in turn can be applied to retrieve monies paid up to five years from opening, Caruso, could be getting a double benefit here from both from the County and the Fed's.

I hope the constituency in the districts of the three supporting sups agree. But it's almost unfair to criticize Joni Gray for her vote because it is in line with policies she's always advocated. It's the two supposed "Democrats" that have really betrayed their districts.I'm glad I voted for Farr.

Yes definite photo caption opportunity: "YES now I really can charge $800 bucks a night, hope for lots of crazy A$$ Hollywood celebrity shenanigans (free advertising) and sit back and not worry about it" or "I have these people eating out of my hands to get this job done! What can I ask for next?"

Sorry but even a million dollars a year tax break will not polish this turd. This property, if it ever gets built, will never generate enough cash to pay a 170 million dollar nut. No lender in their right mind would make tis loan. Shame on you Salud !NO PASARAN! We will remember this next time you run for office ( if anyone rund against you ).